British Transport Police (BTP) officers are calling on members of the public to help them name a number of suspected cycle thieves.
Unfortunately cycles remain a popular target for thieves, and railway stations are often targeted.
BTP officers regularly patrol and target hotspot locations with covert and overt policing operations to catch would-be offenders in the act and over 67 people have been arrested in the last 12 months.
Officers also regularly conduct cycle crime awareness surgeries at stations to provide crime prevention advice and cycle tagging to passengers and the excellent and extensive CCTV systems at stations and across the rail network regularly catches thieves in the act.
As part of the latest crackdown on the crime, officers are releasing a gallery of images of people caught on CCTV who they want to speak to in connection with a number of thefts.
Chief Inspector Derek O’Mara said:
Officers investigating each of these cases have followed multiple lines of enquiry and circulated these images on police intelligence systems to try and get names for these people, but to no avail so far.
We’re now asking for help from members of the public to identify them. If you know any of these people and can tell us who they are, we want to hear from you.
Our intelligence shows that cycle thieves will travel to commit a crime, so please look at these photos carefully, although the theft may not have taken place at your local station, you may know the person who has committed it .
There are a number of measures cyclists can take to reduce their chances of becoming a victim, lock your bike whenever you leave it, preferably with a D Lock, which is a heavy steel lock in a D or U shape. When you lock your cycle, try to fit the bike stand, the rim of one of the wheels and the cycle frame into the D, this will make it harder for thieves to take and there’ll also be less space in the D which will prevent thieves from inserting bars or jacks to lever the lock.
Wherever possible leave your bike in a busy, well-lit area which is covered by CCTV and please also ensure that your cycle has been property marked and fitted with an electronic tracing system or tag to help locate it in the event of a theft.
Make sure your cycle is insured, keep a photograph of it and note the frame number and any markings which will help police to identify any stolen bikes that are recovered.
Thieves should be aware that the majority of cycle racks are now monitored by CCTV and patrolled by plain clothed officers so the likelihood of getting caught is high.
We will continue to work closely with Network Rail and the train operating companies to tackle cycle crime and passengers should report any suspicious behaviour to a member of staff or police.
Anyone with any information about the incidents or who recognises anyone pictured in the CCTV images should contact British Transport Police on Freefone 0800 40 50 40 or alternatively call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111
